Odd
by finite-incantatem
Summary: Just when you thought you'd gotten over him, Harry Potter's behavior becomes a little...odd.


For years, you harbored a not-so-secret crush on him. In that same span of time, you had to deal with endless teasing from your brothers who, it seemed, saw your feelings as some big joke; some foolish schoolgirl crush that would fade with time.

For a while you braved it all, sending Valentine and get-well cards. You kept putting your elbow in the butter dish when he was at your house during the summer and stared shamelessly at him all the time. You would moon about, quiet whenever he was near.

He was your brother's best mate. You had mixed feelings about that, simply because on one hand, you got to see him not only during term-time, but also during the holidays. The down side of it was that…well…he was your brother's best mate.

He received your attentions with obvious discomfort, but he never teased you about it. He never behaved presumptuously or self-consciously or like a great big git the way other boys were wont to be whenever they knew that girls had feelings for them. On the contrary, he was always very kind to you. Polite. He would greet you good morning, or say hi. He was nice.

That made you like him even more.

Then, of course, he saved your life.

When you were thirteen, you had a realization-one that you've had for a while but refused to pay attention to: he was never going to see you as anything more than his best friend's little sister (hence the aforementioned _down side_). You would never be more to him than another Weasley, another inhabitant of the Burrow or Gryffindor Tower. And while it hurt, you decided not to show it. He wouldn't have cared anyway.

But it hurt so damn much.

Hermione once mentioned to behave normally around him; behave as though you no longer had feelings for him. She theorized that it would bring him around, or it might bring other possible objects of affection into your life.

To your great surprise, the latter part of Hermione's theory worked like a charm (for lack of a better word). And, to a certain extent, the former worked as well. Suddenly, both of you could converse comfortably. You could joke around with him, stay in the same room with him without staring. You could _talk_ while he was around, for goodness' sake. You found yourself participating in the DA which, to your great pride, you named.

Finally, you got a chance to have an adventure with him and to fight alongside him and his friends. You weren't left out; you got a chance to see what it was like to be there when he had to play the hero he hated being. Of course, you had to stare him down before he allowed you to do so, but what matters is he let you come anyway.

Simply put, it just got easier with time. You no longer stayed up thinking about him; no longer daydreamed about him in class. You no longer doodled his name (or "Mrs. Harry Potter") on your spare bits of parchment or on the margins of your books. You no longer wished to be acknowledged like a kitten starved for attention. You moved on.

Oh, and while you would never be best mates with Cho Chang, you no longer despised her down to her shoes.

Your life was fine. Actually, it was going great. You had a boyfriend you were crazy about and your preferred spot on the Quidditch team. With the exception of you eldest brother bringing home a lot of _Phlegm_, life was a breeze.

Then, it happened.

_Exhibit Number 1:_

_On September 1, you were speaking with your friends as the Hogwarts Express was pulling out of King's Cross. Then, to your great surprise, he came up to you, tapped you on the shoulder and asked if you two should go look for a compartment. You said you were going to meet Dean. All he said was "Right."_

_Exhibit Number 2:_

_You were tasked to give him a roll of parchment. He opened it, read it, smiled and said, "Monday evening!" Then, out of the blue, he asked if you'd like to join them at Hogsmeade-something that he has never, ever done before._

_Exhibit Number 3: _

_You were kissing Dean. He and your dear, dear brother found you in a very…awkward position. To keep it short, you and Ron fought. Ever the hero, he was in between the two of you, trying to break you apart. Then, when Ron sent something nastily orange your way (and missed) he pushed Ron against the wall._

All right. You're getting paranoid. Yes, that's it. Old habits die hard, after all, and your mind is just holding on to these moments because it used to be habit to file these things away in your head.

Right.

Then, you and Dean broke up. It was over a trivial matter, really; you hated it when he was trying to be all chivalrous and ended up merely pushing you into the common room instead of helping you through the portrait hole. Besides, it wasn't as though you couldn't walk for yourself. But anyway, you've been very rocky for quite a while before that.

Suddenly though, after you split up, Harry seemed to be everywhere you were-in the hallways, the Great Hall, the common room. During Quidditch practices you caught him looking at you numerous times. He stayed behind the others when it was over, talking to you, technically walking you back to the castle. He was always there, and it was starting to intoxicate you.

He was treading dangerous ground.

He was supposed to be here with you now, to play Gryffindor Seeker instead of you. But what could any of you do? He cursed Malfoy with some curse unknown to you and got detention. He felt bad enough, so you didn't even try to berate him when he told you about it. You even lashed out at Hermione in his defence. You and Hermione made up, of course, but…

You sighed.

Just when you thought you were over him, his actions start to make you think twice. Just when you thought you were starting to move on, he decided to move in. What was wrong with Harry Potter, anyway? Why was he acting so oddly?

You gave another sigh and adjusted the straps of your arm pads. You put him and his antics out of your mind for the time being. After all, there was a Quidditch Cup to win.


End file.
